Islamabad: Pakistan was on Wednesday night headed for a
political crisis with uncertainty surrounding Asif Ali Zardari
continuing as President after the Supreme Court scrapped an
Ordinance under which he and several other prominent
politicians had been granted immunity from prosecution in
corruption cases.
The court also directed authorities to reopen a
slew of corruption cases.
In a major setback to Zardari, the country's top court
declared a controversial amnesty that had granted the
President immunity against corruption charges as illegal, a
ruling that could pave the way for challenges to his shaky
rule.
By setting aside the National Reconciliation Ordinance
(NRO) which repealed all corruption cases against Zardari, the
court decision apparently also left thousands of other
officials, including Cabinet ministers loyal to Zardari,
facing reopened corruption and other criminal cases.
The Court said all corruption cases under NRO will be
revived and that all orders and acquittals under the Ordinance
will also be not valid.
A 17-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief
Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, which was hearing challenges to the
NRO that granted amnesty to Zardari and over 8,000 other
people, declared the law was "unconstitutional ab initio" and
null and void.
Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar, who was
present in the apex court, told reporters that the ruling
posed "no threat to the President."
The presidency and the (ruling) Pakistan People’s Party
respect courts and courts’ verdicts,he said, adding "this
(ruling) does not affect the President of Pakistan."
Zardari’s close aide Interior Minister Rehman Malik
is among those whose convictions were quashed under the law.
Musharraf issued the NRO in October 2007 as part of a
deal brokered by the US and Britain to facilitate the return
from self exile of Bhutto and Zardari.
The President and several close aides are among the
over 8,000 people who benefited from the law, which expired
last month after the government was unable to get it endorsed
by parliament within a deadline set by the apex court.
Asked about the reopening of cases against Zardari,
Babar said, "the law will take its own course and we will see
how things proceed further".
"We believe that under Article 248(2) of the
constitution, no criminal case can be instituted or continued
against the President in any court of law whatsoever," he
added.
In a brief order issued shortly after 10 pm, the
bench all cases withdrawn under the NRO would be reopened and
convictions quashed under the law would stand restored.
The apex court also declared as unconstitutional
letters written to Swiss authorities during the regime of
former military Pervez Musharraf to close corruption cases
against Zardari and his slain wife, former premier Benazir
Bhutto.
It directed authorities to reopen these cases.
In its unanimous order, the bench expressed displeasure
at the lack of cooperation from the government in hearing the
petitions against the NRO and directed authorities to replace
the team of prosecutors of the National Accountability Bureau,
an anti-corruption watchdog.
The bench also announced that monitoring committees
would be constituted by the Chief Justice to supervise the
prosecution of corruption cases in and outside Pakistan.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, December 17, 2009, 09:42